Rodrigo Bentancur will miss Tottenham’s Premier League game against Coventry on Monday 19 October, serving the first of a three-match ban for his red card at Old Trafford, and Pedro Porro is set to miss out with a hamstring problem. Kick-off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is 8pm UK time, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
The suspension won’t hurt Roberto De Zerbi’s first choice much. Sports Mole’s Ben Knapton expects Tonali and Bergvall to start together in midfield again. Porro is the bigger worry. Rotowire says he remains out, and while Knapton says he’s close to a return from a muscle injury but “there are no guarantees over the Spaniard’s fitness”, both previews have Archie Gray at right-back.
Our predicted Spurs XI
This is our prediction, informed by Sports Mole and Rotowire. Nothing is confirmed until the teams are named about an hour before kick-off.
Player Status Bentancur Suspended (first of three games) Porro Likely out, hamstring Kulusevski Knee, close, not expected to start Simons, Odobert Out, knee Mudryk Out, ankle
Kulusevski, and the No 10 call
Dejan Kulusevski’s knee is the story supporters are watching. Rotowire says he’s training fully and being assessed week to week, so a place in the matchday squad is possible. Sports Mole says he’s close but not ready to start. The Fantasy Premier League data still lists him as injured, with no return date. See our Premier League injury return dates for the wider picture.
The real selection debate is at No 10. Sports Mole has James Maddison starting behind Solanke, while Rotowire picks Conor Gallagher. We’d start Maddison: against a Coventry side likely to sit deep, Spurs need a passer who can unlock a low block more than another runner.
Micky van de Ven is back from a wrist injury and both predicted XIs have him at centre-back alongside Van Hecke. Both previews have Udogie at left-back, with Robertson left out of the last squad for reasons that aren’t injury-related. Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Mykhailo Mudryk are all out.
Coventry: Awoniyi returns
Frank Lampard’s side get Awoniyi back: Rotowire says he has served his three-match ban for a red card against Brighton and has him leading the line. It also reports Kesler-Hayden is available after returning to team training following a hamstring problem, and Van Ewijk is fit again.
Player Issue Return Haji Wright Quad Not before November Aurele Amenda Calf Up to three months Woolfenden Knee Weeks Eccles Ankle Weeks
Rotowire’s Coventry XI is also a 4-2-3-1, shown above. After Monday, Coventry host Fulham on Saturday 24 October, and Spurs travel to Chelsea the same day for a 5.30pm kick-off. If you’re picking fantasy teams, our GW8 fixture difficulty guide and best fixtures for GW8 to GW12 cover the Spurs and Coventry players.
Maddison or Gallagher at No 10 for Spurs against Coventry? Post your Tottenham XI below.
Featured photo: Hzh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).